Neo in Two Parts
by PrettyLittleMonster
Summary: Every story has a beginning and an end. This tells neither Neo's beginning, nor her end, but it does tell a beginning and an end of something beautiful...
1. The Beginning

**(Author's Note: Hi guys! This is my first RWBY fanfiction I've published, so I hope you like it! As the title states, there will be one more chapter to this which will be uploaded shortly after this one.**

 **Standard disclaimers apply. I own nothing except my own imagination.)**

Alone. She was alone and she'd always been alone and she would always be alone. She knew it. No one wanted her as a child, the tiny little girl with heterochromia and aphonia, and by the time she finally aged out of the foster care system she knew it was her destiny to go through life alone.

She lived on the streets, pickpocketing and stealing food from shops. She was good at it. She lived almost luxuriously, better than at the home anyhow. People were too careless, leaving wallets and money in easily accessible places like pockets, flaunting their expensive jewelry around town; it was easy.

Sometimes she chose people because they were obvious targets, the oblivious ones with their heads in the clouds, never suspecting for a minute that they were being taken advantage of, but sometimes someone would stand out in a crowd and she would seek them out to steal from them. These were the rich ladies walking their tiny dogs and the men with their noses in the air because they thought they were above the people they passed on the street. She chose this man because of his hair, fiery orange and swept so carefully over one eye. He wore a bowler cap with a ridiculous looking feather in it. He was a perfect target.

She walked up behind him in silence, matching his strides perfectly. She could just see the outline of a wallet in the left pocket of his jacket, and moving her hand in time with the swing of his coat, she dipped into the pocket and plucked the wallet out in the blink of an eye. A smile crept its way across her face, and she stuck the wallet in her own pocket.

Just as she was about to flit away, the man turned sharply around, reached out and grabbed her arm.

"And just what do you think you're doing princess?" The man yanked her toward him so that they were on eye level, almost pulling her off the ground to do so as he was far taller than she. He looked as if he might say something else, but he didn't. He just looked at her and she looked back with devious eyes and a crooked smile. Instead he backed off a little bit and loosened his grip.

"Who are you?" He asked.

She only chuckled.

"Oh c'mon, you owe me," he said, holding up his own wallet. She gasped, realizing he had somehow taken it back from her.

"You didn't think I'd let you keep that, did you?" He asked, seeing the surprise on her face, "Now pay up. What's your name sweetheart?"

She growled slightly at the nickname, but she shook her arm loose from his grip and took his hand, tracing the letters onto his palm. N E O.

"Neo. You don't talk much, do you Neo?"

She shook her head.

"Well, allow me to introduce myself. Roman Torchwick, at your service miss." He bowed grandly, taking off his hat and then meticulously placing it back on his head. Neo let out a silent little giggle.

"Tell me, Neo, don't you think a beautiful and obviously talented thief such as yourself deserves to be pulling bigger jobs than picking pockets?" Roman took one of her hands as she brought the other up to her heart in a gesture of thanks and agreement.

"Exactly," he said, "Someone like you deserves to be living like a queen, and I can help you make that happen."

Neo raised an eyebrow at him questioningly, unsure still whether she should be trusting him—but somehow, she did anyway.

"Come now, it can't be worse than the streets, can it? Eating in the best restaurants in Remnant, wearing the finest clothes, we'll even design you a weapon made by the best craftsmen, just for you." Now that piqued her interest. "All that, and a comfortable bed to come home to at the end of the night. You've got to admit, that sounds pretty good."

And he was right. It sounded wonderful. She knew it might be the worst mistake of her life, but she didn't care. She saw the look in his eye and she couldn't say no.

Neo immitated Roman's grandiose bow, never breaking eye contact with him.

"Now that's what I like to hear." Roman winked at her and offered her his arm. She took it, and smiled.

"Let's go..."

 **(Thank you so much for reading this! I would really love some feedback, so please leave a review, and part two to this story should be up soon! Also I'm always taking prompts and ideas so send me you favorite ships and ideas and maybe I'll write you something!**

 **Much love,  
PrettyLittleMonster Xxx)**


	2. The End

**(Author's Note: Alright, so this part is significantly shorter than the first part, but hopefully you still like it! I'm not sorry for breaking your heart... This takes place at the end of season 3.**

 **Standard disclaimers apply. I own nothing except my own imagination.)**

Two hours had passed since she'd landed in the forest and still, no word from Roman. She hadn't stopped sending messages to his scroll since she hit the ground and she'd gotten no response.

 _-Landed in the west side of the forest. Come get me as soon as you finish off red._

 _-Hurry up and kill her, it's cold out here!_

 _-Roman? Are you coming?_

 _-Roman answer me!_

 _-I'm very unhappy with you right now._

 _-Come. Get. Me._

 _-Oh god_

 _-That crash I heard, that wasn't your ship, was it?_

 _-Roman please, I need to know_

 _-I'm so scared_

 _-Please tell me you're okay_

 _-I need to know that you're okay_

 _-Roman..._

Neo hugged her knees to her chest. The cold was starting to get to her and she was beginning to shiver. She took the rapier out of her umbrella and held out in front of her. She stayed that way until the sun came up, curled under the cover of the trees, waiting. It was only then, when the sun had risen, that she allowed herself to sleep.

She propped her umbrella up, creating a tiny shelter by two large rocks and she slept, but not soundly. Her dreams were not dreams, but memories. The time Roman held up an ice cream parlor just to get her something to eat, the time he brought home a sign language book for the two of them to learn together, the look on his face the first day she'd met him.

He was one of the only people who had ever shown her real love and acceptance, and now, where was he? Sure, Cinder and Emerald and Mercury had been kind to her, but she was a coworker to them. They got frustrated with her when they couldn't understand what she was trying to tell them, they didn't want to try to understand her. Roman did. They never did learn much sign language because they didn't need to. A glance, a nod, or a look was all they needed, and he always knew…

Neo woke up around noon, and she checked her scroll desperately. Still no answer. She wanted to scream, but instead, a silent sob escaped her lips, tears that had been building up for hours finally spilling from her eyes. There she sat, in the middle of the forest, and she knew. She knew he was gone.

She was alone.

 **(Shameless self promotion: if you're curious about that sign language book, I may upload a short one-shot surrounding it later so check back soon! Thank you for reading, and if you could leave a review or a prompt it would really mean a lot to me. Thanks guys!**

 **Much love,  
PrettyLittlemonster Xxx)**


	3. A New Beginning

**(Author's Note: This is a third part that I didn't know would take shape, but it did, and I wanted to make it available to you. Thank you for reading.**

 **Standard disclaimers apply. I own nothing except my own imagination.)**

"Neo?"

She turned around. There he was, Roman, without even a scratch, holding his arms out to her. Her breath caught in her throat. He was alive. Falling to the ground, little sobs fell from her lips as relief and happiness washed over her.

"Come now short stack, don't get all teary eyed on me. I don't want to see you cry."

She looked up. And he'd crouched down to get on her level.

 _How?_ She signed.

"I'd never leave you alone, pretty girl."

A silent laugh bubbled up in her throat and she couldn't wipe the smile off her face of she'd wanted to. Roman.

 _I love you_ , she signed, and Roman repeated the gesture back at her. She grinned even bigger than before and she pounced, tackling him in a hug, but as soon as she touched him, he shattered into nothing.

He wasn't real. An illusion created in her own mind to provide her momentary comfort, but in the end, was even more crushing.

Neo crumpled into a ball on the forest floor, trying to let out a strangled scream, but nothing but air came out of her mouth. She clawed at her own skin, wanting nothing more than to disappear. The pain she felt was excruciating, like a knife twisting in her gut, the blood slowly draining from her body. She sobbed quietly there on the forest floor, knowing he was really gone.

 _No._ She stood up, wiping tears from her face and brushing pine needles and dirt from her clothes. There was no time to mourn now. She knew what she had to do.

It was either Red or Cinder. One of them was the reason he was dead, and Neo was going to find out who was at fault, and she was going to make them pay for it. She picked up her umbrella and, with a steely glare on her face and cold fury in her heart, started walking out of the forest.

 **(Thanks again for reading! Reviews and prompts would be so appreciated!**

 **Much love,  
PrettyLittleMonster Xxx)**


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